Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet fought to survive on Monday after a heart attack put him in a Santiago military hospital, while teary-eyed supporters of all ages held vigil outside.
Pinochet (91) who ran Chile with brutal discipline for 17 years, was in stable but serious condition after an angioplasty on Sunday to unblock clogged arteries.
”It’s difficult to say he is out of danger. The next 24 to 48 hours are critical,” his doctor, Juan Ignacio Vergara, said on Sunday night. ”There could be complications … renal, respiratory failures.”
Before the angioplasty, Pinochet was given the Roman Catholic last rites traditionally administered by a priest to the dying. His son, Marco Antonio Pinochet, said Pinochet was brought back from near death.
Doctors said they were trying to avoid surgery, which would be risky because of Pinochet’s age.
Doctors plan to provide their next update on the retired general’s health at 10am. (1pm GMT).
Pinochet is accused of torture, killings, kidnappings and other human rights abuses in his 1973 coup and subsequent rule, when more than 3 000 people died in political violence, many at the hands of secret police.
Prosecutors have failed to bring the former dictator to trial, with his defence team always successfully arguing he was too ill to face charges.
Pinochet has been in frail health for some time and in recent weeks he has suggested his end could be near.
”Today, close to the end of my days, I want to make clear that I hold no rancour toward anybody, that I love my country above all else,” he said in a statement read by his wife on his 91st birthday last week.
A family friend told local television on Sunday night that Pinochet had recently said he was in the ”last phase” of his life.
”This is the worst condition he has been in,” said retired general and Pinochet spokesperson Guillermo Garin.
In his birthday statement, Pinochet accepted ”political responsibility” for acts committed during his rule.
Two days later he was placed under house arrest in the murder of two bodyguards of former Marxist President Salvador Allende, who he overthrew in the 1973 coup.
About 28 000 people were tortured and many more fled the country during the ensuing dictatorship but many Chileans adore Pinochet and thank him for saving them from Marxism.
”Immortal” said one placard held up by a supporter outside the Santiago military hospital where people of all ages chanted ”Pinochet, Pinochet.”
In 2004, disclosures that he had stashed $27-million in secret offshore bank accounts during his presidency alienated many of his supporters. – Reuters